[pepsi100]

Never heard of Tomcat,

[joyfull]

Remember to please be very careful when using rat poisons, one of my Newfoundlands caught, killed and ate a rat they had just eaten rat poison - I can only assume the rat was making it's way back to it's nest at the time but the rat internals that we saw her finishing off were very fresh and bright red. My girl had to be rushed to the vets at 11pm at night for emergency treatment. She had to have 4 very large vitamin K injections plus 7 days of tablets (had to be high doses because she weighs 45kgs). Blood samples were sent off to determin if it was rat poison and also her clotting time - the scale for this goes up to 50 (normal is around 6 or 7) her reading was way off the chart - so bad that they couldn't get a proper reading only that it was way over 50. Another sample was sent off a week after and she was back to normal, but had she been a smaller dog then she wouldn't still be with us.
We are very careful where we have always placed our poison - it is never where the dogs or chickens could get it and before the chickens or dogs get up in the morning I always do a dead animal search incase any have died on the way back to or from their nests, but this happened late at night straight after a rat had eaten it.
Some people I have spoken to (including some farmers we know) have been told by their vets that a dog would have to eat several rats before they would need treatment - have since put them right over that, 1 rat can mean death.
Another friend had to rush his dog to the vets after his dog chewed his bait station (the large green boxes that are used by the professional rat baiters), they didn't know how much bait had been left in there when the dog got it  but they wasn't going to risk their dog having eaten a whole block of bait and got the vitamin injections.
Another thing you need to know with your poison is if it is a first or second generation bait - mine was a first generation so luckily her treatment was easier - 2nd generation needs stronger doses of vitamin K and for longer and people may not be so lucky with the outcome.

[pepsi100]

I dont have a dog or any of my neighbours, but we do have foxes (and if they want to munch on a dead rat they are welcome)

I am just pouring the poison into the entrance/exit hole, which is behind the the shed, the chooks cant get behind there, I havent put any poison in the run, I have just put a large sheet of mesh over the whole area, and there is another hole under it, nothing has got through the mesh or dug any other hole I can find

[LotuSeed]

I agree with joyful's advice about taking care with its use and knowing what other animals can be harmed as a result.  You might not mind if it kills a fox after it's eaten a poisoned rat, but that's not what the intended purpose of it. Rat poison can also kill other wildlife, namely raptors, who feed on rodents (and they can't differentiate between one that's been poisoned and one that's fine to eat. Good luck getting a handle on the situation, I can only imagine how frustrating and destructive a rat infestation can be.

[Sparkyrog]

Never heard of Tomcat,

I use tomcat it tends to be very effective ! . I did however buy two purpose made bait stations , which I find very good !

[New shoot]

Never heard of Tomcat,

It's active ingredient is bromadiolone, which used to be professional use only, but a quick search on bromadiolone rate poison shows there are now some approved versions for home use.

It has been reported quite heavily as being involved in accidental poisonings of pets and wildlife.  I know you are careful, but I'd be extra careful if you buy some 

[pepsi100]

So far this rentokil stuff might be working, went out this morning, its still there, it looks like the same amount I put down last night (but as I cant get behind the shed I am not sure

[pepsi100]

Still got a pile of rat poison in the hole, but I was digging over the chicken run and I found 3 packets of this pasta based rat poison, it would seem the rats have tunneled under the run and popped up outside the run as I never found any holes in the run

Just thought it was strange finding these 3 packets of pasta based in a tunnel (which I never even knew was there)

[RubyR3d]

Still got a pile of rat poison in the hole, but I was digging over the chicken run and I found 3 packets of this pasta based rat poison, it would seem the rats have tunneled under the run and popped up outside the run as I never found any holes in the run

Just thought it was strange finding these 3 packets of pasta based in a tunnel (which I never even knew was there)

.  Oh pepsi the same thing happened to me. They were coming in from next door straight into the coop. Next to the fencing I have an area where I grow veg. My hubby dug it over and it was like an archealogical dig. The tunnel started by next door, under the hen run through the whole veg patch, under a stone step and out round the back of the pond. Through the veg patch it was nearly 5 inch deep.! The whole thing was about 25 ft. I felt sick. I've been next door where the hole is and put some poison down under some pallets where there is freshly dug soil.

[Lastcast]

Pepsi, If you're not squeamish I would also invest in a couple of good snap traps, every little helps when it comes to rats. I always set mine with peanut butter & grain, secure to the ground with a wire peg and most important cover with a 30 inch tunnel, you can make these with some lengths of wood, make sure they're high enough to allow the trap to snap !! Also fill the ends, just allowing a couple of inches clearance, this will stop inquisitive hens & other birds. Set the traps along a wall or along the edge of your run (inside or out).
I always use surgical gloves when disposing of the dead rats, they or their urine carries the nasty Weill's Disease. 
Mind your fingers and good luck.

[Lastcast]

Just wanted to add, I had awful problems with a Rat plague late last year, mostly from my neighbours hen coop, he had an open feeder, so soon as his back was turned it was a free buffet for the rats, never really bothered me until he disposed of his old girls !! The rats then started to pay me a visit. Long and short of it, I trapped/killed over 40 in a couple of months. Luckily we have a well organised & run field, so they had the vermin control people put poison down responsibly. Haven't seen a rat since Christmas but I know they'll be back !!

[themagicaltoad1]

We seem to have very choosy rats in our garden. They won't touch Eradibait, or the blue coloured wheat bait but they seem to love the red coloured wheat. Haven't seen one for a few days now and there's still bait about so I'm hoping we've wiped them out. The problem is that they live in my neighbour's garden and come under the fence into ours. We've told her this but she won't do anything about them, her garden is a jungle with lots of sheds and woodpiles for them to hide in.

[pepsi100]

There is still rat bait in the hole, but after the rain I have put down some fresh (I cant get behind the shed to cover it up)

I think they come from my neighbors garden as well, the bottom of her fence has rotted away in places and she has one of these lights that come on with movement, I don't know if its the rats that are bring on the light

I have dug down at the end of the shed (which goes to the run) and put in a 12 inch ceramic tile, then dug down a further 6 inches and put in some welded mesh, so the rats have to tunnel down 18 inches to get into the run (I hope this works)

I haven't seen any more holes in the run though, I have dug it over now, just to break up this tunnel network

(I dont really know where it went or how long it was)

[pepsi100]

It has been over a week now since the last lot of poison went down and its still there, I havent found any more holes in the run, MAYBE the problem has now died, but I never found any bodies

I think they crawled away to where ever they go to die

Meanwhile, I have dug down 18 inches (give or take a couple of inches) and put wire mesh around all the likely places they may get through, including where I found the tunnel

I hope the problem has been cured now, it has been a long and expensive process (4 Kg of rat poison,) a lot of digging, I have lots of wire mesh left over, but I daresay I shall find a use for it

Thanks everyone for tips, links and suggestions